IN WHICH SOMETHING IS LOST, BUT MUCH IS GAINED, IN THE TRANSLATION

When the huge Evita production company blew into Budapest last month to rent its ancient architecture, Madonna, the film's star, was much too busy staying in character to meet with the local press. Finally, on the eve of her departure, good manners prevailed, and the pop diva submitted to an interview with the Budapest newspaper Blikk. The questions were posed in Hungarian, then translated into English for Madonna, whose replies were then translated back into Hungarian for the paper's exclusive. Shortly thereafter, at the request of USA Today, Madonna's comments were then retranslated from Hungarian back into English for the benefit...